Pro-Ject

In our last newsletter, we discussed the Pro-Ject RPM 1 Carbon and RPM 3 Carbon round turntables. These two models have now been augmented by the much more upscale RPM 5 Carbon model at $1499. This turntable draws many of its advanced features from its big brother, the RPM 9 Carbon. As with the RPM 3 Carbon, this new model comes equipped with a Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 high-output, moving coil cartridge.

The following is a list of improvements sported by the RPM 5 Carbon over the RPM 3 Carbon:

• It has a heavier platter fabricated from acoustically-inert acrylic instead of MDF.
• It uses the straight EVO carbon fiber tonearm with better bearings and rigidity than the RPM 3 Carbon tonearm.
• It employs a more rigid plinth with a carbon fiber layer bonded to the top.
• It has an improved tonearm counterweight that is isolated from the arm tube with TPE damping.
• It employs improved feet with better vibration isolation.
• It has a heavier motor which transmits less vibration to the rest of the turntable and the shelf.

All of these improvements yield a much more advanced product that will excel at retrieving the most delicate information from your record grooves.

With the recent resurgence of vinyl playback, we are seeing an increasing number of record cleaning machines being offered. One of the most interesting new offerings is Pro-Ject's new VC-S vinyl cleaner at a very modest $499 price. Some of its advanced features include:

• It offers bi-directional cleaning, meaning that it cleans in both directions for maximum loosening and removal of dirt and debris from the record's grooves.
• It has a very powerful motor that allows it to clean a record in two rotations, 1 turn in each direction
• It turns the record very quickly at less than two seconds per rotation, about three times faster than most cleaning machines. The result is a much faster cleaning cycle as well as much cleaner and completely dry records with NO residual humidity.
• A new type of clamp seals and protects the record label from cleaning fluid.
• It has a robust metal arm which is easy to use, uses no springs, and is mechanically stable.
• There is a large, 2.5 liter used fluid container with a level indicator. Emptying of the container is quick and simple.
• Two newly-developed vinyl cleaning concentrates, Wash it & Wash it 78, offer excellent cleaning results and reduce static charge so record wear and stylus wear are significantly reduced.

This level of sophistication is usually found only on much more expensive cleaning machines, making the VC-S a real bargain!